The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
A switched-mode power supply (SMPS) is an electronic power supply that includes a switching regulator to convert electrical power efficiently. Like other power supplies, the SMPS transfers power from a source (e.g., AC mains) to a load (e.g., a personal computer) by converting voltage and current characteristics of the power supplied by the source. Unlike a linear power supply, pass element(s) of the SMPS continually switch between low-dissipation on and off states and are sparingly in high-dissipation transition states, which minimizes waste of energy. Voltage regulation is achieved by varying a ratio of on-to-off time of the pass element(s). In contrast, a linear power supply regulates output voltage by continually dissipating power in a pass element. Higher power conversion efficiency is therefore an important advantage of the SMPS.